Happy Holidays!

I don't really know how the new year is going to kick-start. With my third semester exams its going to feel no different (not like it would have made much otherwise!)

Now that I'm gonna be buried in my text books for New Years - here my 'To Do List' for the year 2009.

1) Save 5000 (or more) bucks every month for trip to US in June

2) CONFIDENTIAL HIGH PRIORITY ITEM :D

3) Buy my brother his first phone for college

4) Make an honest effort to dress up for my sister's wedding

5) Go to Pondy with Saranya

6) Visit the Salarjung Museum in Hyderabad

7) Read 'Withering Heights' by Emily Bronte

8) Visit Disneyland in the US :D

9) Visit Dakshin Chitra in Chennai

10) Do one soap carving

11) Buy Hari 'not so expensive' but good shades

12) Buy Ma a very nice silk saree for sister's wedding

13) Learn to drive a car PROPERLY

14) Get my driving license and voters ID

15) Get the wrong address corrected on my passport

16) ...............................................

... and the list will be updated! :D :D

Typical Team Metal Meeting

Satish, Ali, Lateef, Ambassador, Dhruv, Jay - Awake

Guni, Upsie, Kalpana, Spri - Stuck in the wrong place, cannot sleep

Neidhi, Rahul Raj, Smruthi, Mehak - Oh god now!

Pragi, Mahima, Arun - Who cares. Can't we just get done with this?!

I love to type so softly during meetings. I'm right now hiding behind Spriha's chair and sitting on the floor. Anirban is drawing something and just got done with a limerick. Mahima is playing with her hair. Arun left the room. And I'm typing this!!!!!!! :D :D :D :D

Cannot stop typing.. Nakul came up with something funny. 5 started laughing and the rest followed. Lol! It is so funny to watch Mahima wake up and look around! LOL!

This is crazy. Mahima is gonna sleep. Prajakta has aligned herself so Satish wont see Mahima. Snoooozzzz!!

This meeting seems to be never ending. We've now moved from the actual room we were in and occupied another room. Now most have chosen places to hide n type like me. hehe! So many look tired and sleepy. Most r closest to the door - maybe to run away asap.

Satish thinks...

Lateef thinks...

Nakul thinks...

Param does not know much but thinks...

Ed and Brian think...

Saloni has the INDIAN team's opinion...

Well, I think this meeting should end RIGHT NOW! Cause I've gotta pee.

Oh man. I thought they were done 'think'ing! Nakul now thinks what the other reps think.

2009 plans now.... GOSH!! Operations. Congrats! Yay!! Ppl clapping... so r we done?!!?!? He is thinking again. Wahhh :( Hafta hafta pee.

Conclude. Thank you. Phew. Nopes. Still going on. Hmpf!!

Q1 talk now need. laughs need. apologies need. no passport need. GTO need. I NEED TO PEEEEE!!!!

Christmas! Peee. Peee. Now Extreme sports bar plans. Payment. Phew!! SUSU!!!!

Louis CK!

What's not to believe! This guy is hilarious!

My answers to Rashi's questions!

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person who sent it to you.

1. What is your occupation? Senior AdWords rep



2. What color are your socks right now? No Socks



3. What are you listening to right now ? Khudha Jaane



4. What was the last thing that you ate ? Ice cream



5. Can you drive a stick shift? yep



6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Dad



7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Ya ya! the noisy lazy roomie



8. How old are you today? 21



9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Shuttle badminton



10. What are your favorite drinks? Hmm.. anything fresh.



11. Have you ever dyed your hair? No



12. Favorite food? Anything with Prawn



13. What is the last movie you watched? Dostana



14. Favorite day of the year? Diwali



15. How do you vent anger? Write all bad stuff on a piece of paper and then tear it all up and throw it away



16. What was your favorite toy as a child? Pintu (my stuffed toy)



17. What is your favorite season? Winter



18. Cherries or Blueberries? cherries


19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Ya, but very few do



20. Who is the most likely to respond? Lol! Saranya, Naveen. Rashi sent it to me so she's ruled out.



21. Who is least likely to respond ? Lakshmi



22. Living arrangements? Jeanette and her noisy fan



23. When was the last time you cried? Hmm... i think about 8 months back.



24. What is on the floor of your closet? Socks, Quilts, Towels



25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? -



26. What did you do last night? Browsed the net for "Is Porn legal in India" for a research post on my blog



27. What are you most afraid of? Some of my most dreaded dreams.. they are scary


28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburger? Cheessse!


29. Favorite dog breed? Don't like dogs too much. But the pug is too cute.



30. Favorite day of the week? Saturday. No alarms, no cab missed calls, no bath, no wake up.



31. How many states have you lived in? 2



32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds always



33. What is your favorite flower? Carnations

SHIFTED n HAPPY!

I'm done. I'm not doing this once more. I'm gonna stick to this one and if there is a problem - I'm packing just once - to go home.

This house is cute compact and cozy! I love the way I can lie on the sofa once I reach home and just watch TV without having to adjust a cushion behind my back like the previous house. I like the way the maid just walks in knowing where her stuff is and starts cleaning and washing. I like the way the watchman is just more then OK to help us at ANYTIME. I like the way the cab comes only at 8:15 a.m. every morning (makes me wanna curl in my sheets even at 7:15) I like the way familiar faces are always there for a warm smile. I'm scared of that bully Mahima though (serial kisser!). Lol!

I hope I'm safe. I hope I don't have to do this all over once again. I hope things just go so well and I find a room mate soon. I hope things never churn green here.

I do not like the noisy people and the crying kittens. I do not like the wake up call from the mosque - but I have no say in any of these. So I'm adjusting still - I'm sure there is no such thing as real estate heaven. But if there is in HYD - please write to pragiv@gmail.com - PHULEASE!

A happy end!

Mehak all of a sudden asked me if I wanted to put Mehendi - and Yes, i did! We went to Shilparamam for a crazy 300 bucks (both of us!) and got this done! :D


Somehow my hands smell very eeeuuuwww after I got this done.. meaning weird smell! BUT who cares - some lotion and it goes... I love the dark red that it's become! :D

I did this cause it was my sisters 'Almost Engagement' yesterday! Congratsss Laal akkkaa!! Love you and wishing you only happiness in life! :D

P.S : Don't stay in the US forever. :D

Deperately need this song!!!!

P.S : For Tamilians only - But if u have the song PHHUULLEASSEE send it!!

ANYone has the song Un Uthattora Siveppe from Paanchalangkurichi?!?!?! PHHHUUULLEEEEEEASSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEE send it to me!!!!! I've been looking for it for daysss!!

Looking for a roomie.

And now i have to share my room. If anybody but me is even reading this - help me find a roomie.

Shifting again.

#%^&()_)((&$@(%#@#$%^&^

Anymore bad words? Please use all the fowl language instead of me saying them. Damn. Perverted landlords in Hyd. I'm so sick of men. Seriously. That much of anger!! I hate these people!

Well.. breathe in breathe out!! PHoooff!

I'm shifting houses again. Why? 1) My landlord is a horny pervert. 2) Rent is too high for my pay. Why not before? 1) Had no time 2) No money either (And am one of those who cannot take money from parents)

I'm so pissed. I've logged into Gtalk and I cannot see Budhu. No Hari. Padhu is not 'On His Blackberry' UURRRGHHH!!

What's with men? Seriously? A hint of a (^@*@ and why do they have a to become so disgusting?! Men - URRGGGHH!!

Why r there 2 sides to a coin?!!? Can't there just be one?! Why is it that exactly the day after my landlord behaves stupid - the HR person from office becomes so sweet and helps in every possible way? Thank god for the HR person - my opinion of men changed.

Tuesday is a holiday from work for Id. I'm gonna be shifting on a week holiday. URRGHH!! Instead I could just wake up late, walk in somewhere for Brunch in my capris, get back home, sleep my evening away, stay awake and watch a movie, order a pizza for dinner, sleep again and wake next day cursing the alarms. So pissed. Thank god for blogs. Thank god for empty flats in Nirmal's building. Thank god for HR people. Thank god for all those patient friends who listened to the sick story. Thank god for strong keypads on IBM laptops!!!

KILL GOD FOR MEN LIKE MY PREVIOUS AND PRESENT LANDLORDS. If u r family and if u r reading this - please do not tell my parents. Infact, don't tell my parents. SHUSH!!

Competition~

Know what I call competition?! Something that makes audience's blood pressure rise!

Well, I'm audience today.

The participants are 'Saamiyey Saranam Ayyappa' and 'Jesus, I love you.'

Hail all noisy temple functions and noisy gatherings! It happens ONLY in India!

Money and friends!

Naveen and I fell into this weird conversation of borrowing money from friends. Somehow I have never borrowed money from him, Hari and Padhu ever. I dunno why and I cannot ask them for money either. Why? - I dunno don't ask. With friends, there are a few you can ask anything under the sun and some you limit urself from. My comfort level with most of my friends is great but moneywise I can ask only Shilpa. Cause we both are friends who have been through all that it needs to screw up a relationship and still remained and patched up things to be great forever! Maybe its the fear factor that a little money can make the relationship ugly.

I just asked myself a few questions :

Who is the first person you will think of when u r in dire need of money? - Shilpa

Who is the last person on your mind? - Naveen

What's the highest amount you have ever borrowed : Two thousand bucks

Longest period you haven't returned the cash - One month

Ever felt so broke that you have starved yourself a meal to save up? - Hell, yeah!

Who is the one person you will never wanna lend money to? - Hmm... none i can think of!


Money and friends - don't mix till there is absolute easiness of trust!

An honest joke from a long lost friend...

I live in a place where a pear is seen and eaten as a pear, but when its discussed about in public "Its the fruit that I first tasted in America when I stayed @ the Hilton for the release of our new order for Puma. We forfeited our order with Nike as it was getting boring." Phew! All for a pear!

After a very long time a long lost friend who I thought was one of this kind pinged me online. I was not too sure if I wanted to reply. His first ping was "Where are you?" People have seriously stopped saying HI. I said "Home but hi." He said he was in Tirupur and was utterly bored. I don't blame the guy. After 4 years in Scotland and 1 year in London even Banglore would be boring to him. He was in a reunion dinner with a few friends from our school. The kind.

I mentioned how rude it was to be chatting with someone when u r at a dinner party. He said like.."yeah whatever."

For a minute the man got me in splits! Poor thing. What did he do but go away from this place, learn the world and come back to face the same crowd who decided not to move or learn but to remain and bug.

Haha! Hearty laugh! Poor thing he though.

Simbu and the Simbu tribe! haha!

I happened to search for one song I heard recently which was sung by Silambarasan - a self-proclaimed A1 grade actor. He is called Simbu for short and Google pulled up 2 kinds of similar searches!









Well, now I agree with Simbu!





And also, Google!

Am I approachable?

I took this quiz on www.blogthings.com and this was my result :

"You can talk to anyone, and it shows. People are eager to start conversations with you. You are open and friendly. You are willing to connect with almost anyone.

While it's great to be approachable, there is such a thing as too approachable.
Eventually someone will try to take advantage of you. Don't be afraid to say no or end an awkward conversation. "

Pornogrpahy in India

@ lunch once one of my colleagues asked me this question, "Do you think porn should be made legal in India?" Immediately my mind got a million images of protests, students, policemen, rich kids, Shiv Sena, women etc. I don't know if I was imagining all this for a Yes, it should be allowed.. or for a No, shouldn't. I was not sure what my opinion was. One of the others at the table said Yes. My thoughts were more on what would happen if it was allowed legally. I was imagining children who would lose fright and kill their guilt and access porn sites. I was still not sure what I was thinking about.

The one who said yes spoke up. He said "People anyway view porn sites and access every single thing on the web. There's youtube which vividly gives u videos with very very minute censoring. There are sites that you can open and just download videos. There are movies in Indian theaters you can go to to get the paid version. What's the issue having it legally online?" I was not sure if I agreed, not sure if I disagreed either.

I was sure of one thing - if it was legal, people in India would go berserk. People would make it a profession here in India (like it already isn't) The entertainment industry would see charts rise high. Students would be widely affected.

I researched on this when I went back home and came across this site. www.no-porn.com - A site that helps people who are addicted to porn recover. On further research I saw a survey they had published.

Over 50% of people has said Yes to Daily viewing of porn. I was shocked! And over 45% of these people were from the ages 11-15. Which is maybe classed 5,6,7,8 and 9. I was stunned. I learned how to email at this age. Things in my mind were working fast. Children with emotional breakdowns, bad childhood, irresponsible parents, bad company, children who do things for the thrill of it. But the only word that kept repeating itself was CHILDREN!

How, how HOW is it even possible that I would say yes to a question like that now? I would never have a positive opinion about making porn legal. Never. I hate the fact that prostitution is legal in Mumbai. Women who cannot afford basic necessities fall into this profession and most of them never get out. Lives ruined, families lost, self-respect reported dead.

And to call it a profession - makes me wonder why criminals are not titled any profession.

20 questions!

Read this 20 questions on a magazine and Here are my answers!

Favorites!

Favorite color : Blue

Favorite actor : Kamal Hassan

Favorite food : Stuffed Crab from Mainland China

Favorite hangout : Barista near college

Embarrassing stuff!

Ever been caught cheating in exams? : Yes, in twelfth grade. I was not allowed to write 2 exams that followed. :D

Ever peed in a pool? : Yes.

Danced in a bathroom? : Duh! Ya!

Ever lied to your mom about who you were on the phone with? : Hehe! YES!

Are you honest? : With these answers - Yes!

Workwise!

Name one guy you thought was cute @ work : Beep. None.

When was the last time you made fun of your manager and he walked by? : Yesterday.

What's the worst thing @ work? : The Pay!

What's the best thing @ work? : hmm.. flexibility and food.

When you are with Friends!

Who's the one person you've always wanted to be with but just couldn't? : Tom Cruise

What is the word used most often by your best friend? : Goose

Who among your friends knows you the most? : Dori

How many times have you fought with your best friend and gotten back together? : No count

Do your friends respect your time @ work and with family? : No one cares. we're all not together anyways.

What is the on thing all your friends come to you in common for? : Emotional outlet! (and also, projects, assignments, resumes etc!)

For the future!

If you have a son, what would you name him? - Rishi/Krish

If you have a daughter, what would you name her? - Nethirya/Adhwaitha

What is the one thing you always dream about when you think of your future husband? - Playing scrabble :D

What kinda mother in law would you want? - Someone who does not insist on changing my behavior and customs. Someone who lets me be me. Someone who lets go of the son to HIS family after I'm in.

What kinda mother in law would you wanna be? - ditto!

What color bedsheets would you get for your bedroom? - Blue/Green

What is the one thing you would change after your wedding? - My surname :D

Do you think a girl should work after she gets married? - Its her choice

Women? - A gender

Men? - ditto!

Women > Men : True or False? - False

Women = Men : True or False? - True

Do you think your future husband will take as much as care as your father took of you? - No

Would you consider your in laws = your parents? - Eh!? No

How many kids do you wanna have? - 3

Do you wanna have twins? - No

Triplets? - NO!

What is the one attribute in you that reminds you so much of your mother? - Selflessness/Patience

Will you have an arranged or love marriage? - Love marriage

How were the questions above? - 7/10!

Gmail Themes!

Things to brighten up your mail box!



http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/communications/soa/Gmail-gets-colourful-themes/0,130061791,339293398,00.htm

THE Promotion - finally

Big bucks! Its finally here, the much awaited promotion. I'm glad, content. My work is rewarded well and I'm looking to do more stuff.

Clap clap clap!

Rohan's Randomeshwar!

Today's been a pretty hectic day daywise, pretty happy day promotion-wise and pretty funny day fun-wise. I shud really shut up dumb-wise.

My friend @ work - Rohan started his blog just today. How? - Randomly! About what? - Random stuff! He has 2 pictures of children who are physically and mentally challenged. I was offended by the pictures - very - but the sad thing is the writing was hilarious!

Funny Rohan! Stupid Rohan - more apt - Retard Rohan!

http://randomeshwar.blogspot.com/

The only time I'm angry with Subway!

This is probably the only time I will say I'm actually ANGRY with SUBWAY! I had ordered my Meatball sub about 1.5 hours back and it hasn't come as yet. Yes, 1.5 hours. AARRGH! I'm dying of hunger! SUBWAY hunger!

OK hold on.. door bell.

... yeah, it was SUBWAY. But I sent the guy back. I know I didn't do the right thing for myself and my tummy (poor tummy) but I'm sure this is gonna be a good incident to teach delivery people their core job! This not being the first time BTW. Last Friday Jeanette and I ordered ourselves lavish dinner with cookies from here. We paid the guy and bit into our subs. All done. Now it was cookie time. For Jeanette it was first time - the cookie ordering thing. But I always did. They r little pieces of heaven! The cookies we got were SOOOO hard! I was completely shocked so I immediately called SUBWAY and informed them and also made myself sound stern enough so they would not do it to other customers as well. When I made my order today made sure they gave me good cookies and not round things that would made Jeanette break her teeth!

The guy was very humble though.. he said "I'm sorry Madam, there were many other deliveries." I could have been VERRRY sweet and said "Ok fine" and taken it. But I was just NORMAL (not rude not angry not sweet either). I told him "Thank you Bhaiya but its been over an hour and I already ordered food from elsewhere because u dint turn up." He honestly felt sorry.. poor guy. Every job there is this one day where u feel "shit, did i just not work or did i not work hard enough." He did bring the right stuff, he did bring it but he dint bring it on time. Thank god subs don't go cold.

I'm feeling bad the guy has to go back and feel bad about me sending him back and him having to face his senior staff in office with the 'too-late' food. Its could even cost him his job efficiency but I only did that cause during that 1.5 hours that he didn't turn up I called SUBWAY once and the guy who answered and bluntly cut the phone and never picked after that!

Well.. am not feeling bad though im feeling bad for that guy! Lets see if my cookies come right and fast!

Ortist madness @ work!

Appu's!

visit Ortist



visit Ortist



visit Ortist


visit Ortist


visit Ortist

On my ears now...

Lately I've been listening only to one song while I work. A song from Vaaranam Ayiram (a Surya starrer) :D - Mundhinam Paartheney...

I love the lyrics
"Thula thottil unnai vaithu nigar seyya ponnai vaithai.. thula baaram thorkadho peralagey"

SO in love with this song! My VLC Crashed after 3 days!! I'm still listening to it! :P

PETA.

Are you veg or non-veg?! I usually proudly say - Pure Non Veg. Yeah, I eat meat.

I watched THE most disturbing video ever today on www.peta.com. The video made me cry for a while. How humans can be so brutal and heartless! (Well, who am I to talk - Pure non-veg!)

http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=iowa_sow_farm_investigation_9-08_web_edit_peta&Player=wm

Totally disturbed. Maybe I should consider becoming a vegetarian.

10.11.08

Another Saturday night with nothing to do!

Yes, I'm still complaining! Not tonight though... Today turned out to be great.. nah... greater than all the other boring weekends in Hyd!

What I did : nothing. Hee :D What I actually did the whole day : Woke, got the maid to do all the cleaning, called for lunch, watched FRIENDS, and lazed the afternoon to evening and then night. Me being me. Alone, bored, but happy. Hee :D

Last night turned out to be such a memorable night. I laughed and laughed with a few friends over a conference call about my dream. I told the friend of mine about my dream. We laughed it out like crazy and this conference call can keep me going for weeks. we chatted and chatted. The boys were making plans to go to Dubai. This was when I was sad. I cannot go with them cause I'm the only girl. The guys even gave me ideas of how I can convince my dad and just go to Dubai. It was very sweet of them. But I'm dead sure dad's not gonna let me... and that's because I'm not gonna ask him. To be the one who initiated the trip plans, I sure am gonna miss it if it happens. I wish it does, I don't have any nice pictures of these guys together - infact noone has pictures of these guys together.

God bless Google for their phones, I can conference with friends abroad as well. And these calls make me feel really happy. Even if the other 2 people are talking something as boring as business. Yeah, business talk bugs me. Specially when I have no idea about the field. I just realised that if it were my girlfriends who were talking about the latest nail color - I would not know that either. What would I know?! Now, that's a thinker.

My TV time : I have been away from TV for about 3 weeks, actually ever since my room mate refused to let me watch something I wanted to and rudely claimed it to be her TV. I've been giving her this cold treatment and I don't give that treatment to anyone but people who really need to see that side of me. She's outta town this weekend. I've been watching it for maybe an hour now. So pissed. Headlines today, NDTV, and every damn news channel is reporting that Amitabh Bachan is admitted with hernia on his 66th birthday. Well, I think its time's way of telling him : Get some rest bugger, let other people start making money too. What's with this family 'The Bachans,' and the news. The lord of the house has hernia and its news... the lady of the house likes SRK better than Aamir and its news... the bachu cannot control the bahu in Bangkok during an award function and its news... the bahu is spotted in London shopping in a mall and its news! Isn't it what people wanna see the only day they have time to watch TV and get parallel with what's happening in the world! Utter madness! Well, who cares if his hernia is easy to operate or not - there are kids who need basic vaccination. Cover them, not a 66 year old guy who owns an island in dubai, 150 windmills in UP and has the world's most beautiful bahu and a stupid son who chose to stay the house dog forever!

Abhishek and John are acting like a gay couple in a movie : Cant wait!

Maanada Mayilada : Another reality show that has been going on for about a year noe. I remember watching it for the first time voluntarily cause one of the choreographers I had met once was performing. This show is something my mom once watched and forgot to call my lil brother in boarding school. Good show : if not for their (including the judges) costumes weren't like lit up Christmas trees.

I'm sitting with a box of ice cream which I paid 320 bucks for right now. Its my usual Sunday routine - laze the whole day and do nothing and just when it gets dark feel like having ice cream. Be lazy to go out and order home for the minimum amount 300 :)

The most recent worry in my life is that my Picasa online photo storage limit is over. And so is my blogger storage. I'm beginning to use vpragi@gmail.com instead of pragiv@gmail.com - yeah, i have both! :)

Now to get on with work, let me get to forwarding emails to the right queues. Will be back with more boredom and something beautiful.

~$%#*#5

@ work and guys!

This has been in my head for over a year now. Men @ work : URGH! After having lived in a residential school where boys are fed chivalry and manners, the guys in my office turn out to be men with nothing. They yawn without closing their mouths : gosh, I don't wanna count your cavity and fillings nor do I wanna breathe around there for the next one minute. They chew with their mouths open, alk with food in their mouth : euuw. Like Phoebe says in FRIENDS : I asked for news, not the weather! Seriosly!

With everyone who has a personal side of themselves, a secretive side. Shush side of everyone. I dunno why it bothers me so much when guys @ work download and watch porn in office. I mean, how desperate can u be?! In office?! Do what you want, use a privacy screen for gods sake.

I'm someone who cannot take foul language. Never. The F word when unnecessary can piss me off. Language in office can get disgusting, so disgusting I can slap someone. Urgh! Wish I could. Learn some normal language man. I'm sure your mom or sis or anybody from family or the surrounding u grew in would not appreciate this. Is this your attempt of trying to be 'cool.' If yes, good. But URGH!

More complaints on this subject : bad breath, body odour, hygiene, peeking into others screens (specially when they are chatting), smell of smoke after a smoke (yeah, its normal but PHHHULEASSEE), comment on other girls in lewd language.

Well, this is my attempt not to correct guys. Just REALLY taken aback with how guys can be so not bothered about themselves.

Wish my dream comes true...

I had the weirdest of dreams 2 days back. I hear early morning dreams come true, I soo wish this does. Its one of the things that I've been thinking about over and over again. What happens once a girl gets married? Loses all the touch with her friends... all go their way. I so don't want anything of that sort to happen to me. I would feel soo guilty on my death bed! My friends so deserve me!

Well the dream went this way... Cindy a friend of mine (I can tell her about anything under the sun!) Yea that meant, most of my girl talk! I dream that Cindy and I go shopping in Coimbatore. We 2 friends are married to 2 friends and we get to be together forever and forever. That means we can discuss just about anything at any point of time in life.

I had the best laugh with her when I told her this. We laughed over it on conference and everything but when I ended up I was flooded with emotions === pray my dream should come true.

A girl should always have her Besst pal! The one who can be there for you just about anytime! The one who's ego does not live when u r around, the one who she can discuss anything under the sun! The one BEST friend for life!

P.S : My tooth fairy : If you are reading this, plss phullleasseee grant me this one wish for all the teeth I saved under my pillow!

Just another evening...

A shop that sold bags in Shilparaman. Literally, THE most colorful shop there.




P.S : I just realised why these days my sentences finish with a full stop. there used to be days when I had a ! after every sentence. Maybe after a whole year of living with literally with a comp you tend to lose the happiness in saying something.

The thing called boredom.

I understood why weekends were such a bore for me. Its been more than a year now and I still haven't found the person called Friend in Hyd. Or maybe I'm just very blessed with thoughts of my friends from high school and college that I cannot accept anybody. I don't accept anybody and then I complain.

Ques : How do you like hyd?
Ans : Hyd's boring.

My answer hasn't changed for a year and more now. It's just in my head that Hyd is boring, there are not enough places to go and eat, its not safe and finally Who will I go with? There are just two options. I think of Rashi and Jeanette. Both my ex-roommate and present roommate. The other times I go, I go alone. Somehow I'm in luv with shopping alone for myself. No second opinions, no interepted opinions.

I'm right now sick and tired of Rajdhani which gives the best overpriced Rajasthani food. Jeannette and I end up there when we wake late of weekends and are too lazy to cook. I'm also sick of pizza. Every other day I call for pizza and have a worthy meal of 90 bucks.

Why is there no place I can walk into with someone like Shilpa or Saranya and talk nothing but worthless crap and sit there for hours?! Simple, cause there is no Shilpa or Saranya around.

Being sick of most of the things I decided to get a haircut. My decisions are mostly instant. Thought of, decided and done. Like immediately. I paid a good amount and cut it short. Which means pay a lot and also get my mom to yell at me. :D Quite ok with the haircut.

Thursday being holiday for Dussera, I decided to treat myself to sleep till 11. I did. Woke and felt lazy so ordered pizza as soon as I opened my eyes. I brushed and was ready for brunch - pizza. Went back into my sheets and with my laptop and FRIENDS I had my brunch. Now no worries for food till dinner. Cleaning, arranging, more cleaning was all I did during that day. By evening it was pouring outside and chances of me remotely going out to get grocery was ruined. Just then my roommate said she is leaving outta town that night. That meant Home Alone for 3 days. Urgh!

My realtionship with my high schools friends has only been over the phone. And yet I cant do without talking to them once in a while. And there are a few who i have to talk to everyday or I cant sleep. These guys mean so much and I cannot face the fact that things can change after a few years. I dont want it to, and thats the first time ive said that out loud. I've always wished for me to spend a few months with them in person. I know its never gonna happen cause if it had to it would have by now.

Facebook that was one thing I never opened for a loong time has become my main entertainment during work breaks. I wait for someone to add pictures or comment on any picture so i can smile. I realise how desperate I've become for some source of entertainment. Being online for almost the whole day has made me so dependant on the internet for anything. My source of contact has become Gtalk, FB and orkut. I've become a fast typist and an active social networking person. How sad is that. This being the case, I've lost touch with talking. Talking - the only thing I used to do before. So to keep up with my skills I call 'A friend every Tday.' A Tuesday and a Thursday. A friend I havent called for a long time. A friend who I've avoided calling to watch FRIENDS which is stored on my laptop. My T day plans are the best. It makes me smile for doing a nice thing and I'm sure it keeps the friend thinking I remember.

No amount of Skype, or Gtalk, or Yahoo mssgr, or FB can gime what I actually want. Not only me, anyone.

Those hot chennai afternoon when we all dress to eat the favs, those sultry nights where we all tuck in one room to play pictionary, those hungry days when we ordered the Huge amounts of food, those obvious birthday plans and gifts, those last minute runs to get some frankies to avoid the minimum order amount, those rushes to get the 10 rs tickets @ Sathyam when we are absolutely broke... Those days... Those were the best days of my life!

Beautiful quotes...

After all this time
I never thought we'd be here
Never thought we'd be here
When my love for you was blind
But I couldn't make you see it
Couldn't make you see it
That I loved you more than you'll ever know
A part of me died when I let you go.

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

You're as welcome as cancer, but my door is always unlocked

My thoughts are free to go anywhere, but it's surprising how often they head in your direction.

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

The most beautiful view is the one I share with you.

Where words fail, music speaks...

Men talk of killing time, while time quietly kills them.

The arrogance of the artist is a very profound thing, and it fortifies you.

Sometimes it's so hard to see the good things passing by.

Everything, everything will be just fine,
Everything, everything will be alright.

Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak; sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go.


That unspoken feeling, of knowing that right now is all that matters.

The only sure thing about luck is that it will change.
Taking joy in living is a woman's best cosmetic.

Happiness is not an ultimate destination, but instead lies in appreciation of the journey.

There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach.

Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.

In dreams we enter a world that's entirely our own.

Spring is nature's way of saying 'Let's party!'

When the world says "Give up",
Hope whispers "Try it one more time".

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.

Why Weekends!?

What has Pragi been doing durign weekends? 

How was your weekend? 

Howz your new house? 

Well well well... Seriosly BLAH! 

Just when I thought I'm done...

When I decide I have my space...

Privacy and all...

...my landlord brings home carpenters to fix cupboards (I had shelves as you can see)

That screws a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, SATURDAY, SUNDAY, then comes a Monday when they ask me to extend my frustration & patience till Tuesday! All these days include me staying in the hall and keeping things in J's room.

Well... I did! And I got this lovely room with cupboards without which I was living paying 5000 bucks till now.. Now i feel its worth 4000 bucks! 

Just when I think.. YAY I'm done!.. my ladnlord appears with painters to paint the plywood inside the cupboards! AArrggh! 

There goes another Saturday morning's sleep and When they knocked my door for Sunday's work... I was furious! So here I'm in office blogging this frustration while painters in my room might honestly be doing about anything to my cupboard! HMPF! 

But I have a room now... cupboards, windows, corrected cutain hangers and a LOCK to the cupboards! Phew! 5000 bucks.. what the hell do landlords think of themselves! 

Selflessness..

When you held her hand the first time.. she dropped a tear.

When you smiled in ur sleep.. she was there.

When you took your first step.. she felt the pride.

When you fell ill.. she stayed up and prayed.

She thought of you every time the school bell rang.

When she was alone.. she embroided your hankies.

She told you stories to put you to sleep.

She watched you play and run and walk.

She smiled when ppl praised you.

She woke before you to get u set to school.

She.... will come back

The red umbrella~

Be mine~

It was just the 2 words that made the difference..

No hug or kiss could have meant that much..

No poem or card could have made the tear drop..

No sugar words could have silenced the lip..

Just enough.. that was just enough..

To hold him close and never want that moment to end..


The eyelids fell.. the skies did too.. and among those who held the black.. his hand opened out her red umbrella..

Feeling blah.

Never ever has a Friday evening been so BLAH before. I've got my bonus, I've got my salary, I'm literally rich today and yet I don't feel like getting my butt off this lousy chair to go back home or do something else.

Maybe its just the feeling of the first weekend after getting back to work from home. Last weekend was energetic and noisy at my relatives. I was poor then. 516 bucks poor.

Argh! Maybe this is the feeling of having everything and yet nothing!

The new sensation in my life...

This is the new sensation in my life!

What?! A ship sinking? War? Destruction!? NOO - Battleship!

The sexiest game to make you feel how lucky you are...

There are no strategies in this game and this game is pure sheer luck!



I remember playing this game for the first time in Nazareth. Every Sunday we took turns to says HIT, MISS! I looovve this game!


For a long time now I hadn't played this game till I discovered it on Skype! Naveen and I started playing this game and I felt like a winner even though he is far off in China and me in India. Same with Hari in Mumbai, Chellam in B'lore!!

This game makes me feel like I'm queen of the world! (Only wish you earnt money with every game u win!) I would have all theirs! hehe! (U guys are the best!)

I luuvvveee Battleship!

The Indian $%@^&*# love story!

The Indian Lesbian Love Story

                              - Upasana Nath

Reviews of the Indian best seller

"What is this Archies's Indian Version eh?"

- Kalpana Times

"Upasana was frustrated, Jeanette was jobless and the board was empty"

- The Pragi 

feeling beautiful again...

There is still a week to go... to be home after 6 months... to see all my school friends in life's first ever Alumni meet... to take pictures of the places we all had the best time... Also, to go to KKD for my best friends wedding! The very first wedding among all of us! 

So excited ever since i booked my tickets... I'm so glad I put up with myself for these excited days! When i come back work is gonna suck big time, im gonna be so homesick, so lost without the best of people around me... so bored with none to bug knowing they wont mind! But I'm gonna go and be back... be back! Aah! Yup..! 

Can't wait to go see the bride in all blushes (or shud we teach her to) dressed and still squeaky!! 

Why I luuuvveee Orkut!

Dunno what to do!?

Really bugged!?

Guess what I do when am done with work - Orkut!

I don't scrap people.
I don't refresh to see who is online. I get cheaper! ;)

I browse through profiles, random stuff, specially albums!

What random shit people post!! An album with 800 pictures after Orkut increased the photo limit! Ha! I wasn't that jobless to go through 800 pictures of football players, not even the profile owners!

1093 communities!! Man, how many diff likes and dislikes can one have?! Answer : Many! But just a 100 communities dedicated to football!?!? How crazy is that!!

Is it not enough you become a part of your fav filmstar's community!? Do u actually have to be a part of every damn movie he has acted?! Well, all do that!

Beat this : Birthday : Sep 10. Community : If you were born on September 10, join this community! Hell, what's with people and self-obsession!

Vyshnavi Happiness is missing in my life....
Hilda His ignorance, my patience - lets see who wins!!
Pranav - Manchester till my grave

What wonderful profile names.... whoa! Inner sentiments dont go anywhere so they become part of orkut profile names! Children! Hehehe!

I was thoroughly jobless, thats why a post like this! Enjoyed though!

When you realise...

When you realise...

Has there been this time in life when you feel that things have changed and the world seems to take it well?! I felt like that a few days back... not for the first time but recently...

3 of my best friends are to be wedded and are right now : Engaged! We were the lucky bunch who lived together in hostel. It was a cute family who at the end of the day had all the time to sit up and discuss about each ones H.O.D, teacher, warden, class mates, popular girls in college and blah blah.

There was never a time we actually spoke of those few years after college that would change all our lives. We were the world to each other in that hostel and being away form hostel surely meant coming back for most of us. It hit us that things will change when a few did leave hostel and never came back, but to visit. Personally, it hit me hard when I had to leave and when I for sure knew I would not come back when most of my other friends were gonna be in the same city. I knew I was leaving behind a lot, but I knew what I was leaving it for.

Life goes on. We've gone paths, we've finished a year without being together. We've understood that a few years down the line we will meet with maybe some chunnus and munnus around us. It still hits us hard to think life is changing and we are scared. Right now, the 3 are extremely excited, we are too!! Can't wait to see them tie the t to live happily ever after. We've begun speaking things like "what are we wearing... color code" haha! NEVER before!

We've loved each other a lot, missed each one in our one ways and shared with each other according to our own wavelengths and yet we all stick together cause there is something common among all of us which we have no idea what.

I miss those long planned birthday parties whenever I call each one to wish 'em. It stings a little hard when I browse through those pics taken on beaches, restaurants, hostel rooms, madness during birthdays et all!

I've realised that life does go on, fairytales do come true, friends don't stay with you forever - they BE there for you from somewhere...


...We are not from the world where friends dream about who is gonna be who's brideasmaid or the single women who compete to catch the bouquet when the bride throws it. We are all from the world where the bride wears the saree and counts her toes when she walks... but I still believe that with us the one who is least expected will be the next one!

When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible...


Congrats Aarti, Sus and Ribs! We're really happy for you guys!

City of Life - Hong Kong

With all that Buddha explanation about in my previous post, I decided to bring back those memories of Hong Kong myself!

This trip was totally unexpected. I was in school when mom called and said daddy is going to HK for a fair this summer. With something on my mind, I said i wanna go too! Then Sai was pulled into the plan and it was finalized! It was the three of us and mom was planning to walk it to Palani.

All excitement and happiness in school!! All things were packed and we reached Chennai by train and stayed the night over @ some random hotel. The flight was late that night and we were @ the airport! Sai and I were going abroad after a verrrry long time! The flight was to Singapore and a transit from there - 8 hours!

The Singapore airport is the most beautiful man made thing after the Taj Mahal I would say. The various shops, the colors, the people, the orchids and every damn thing was welcoming in that place! Starbuckssss - - Ooooh!! Dad got us black coffee and I enjoyed every bit of it!

The flight from Singapore to Hong Kong was tiring... my bones were paining and Sai was a little to heavy on my shoulders. The landing in Hong Kong is the best! The runway is withing the seas and it feels like the flight is plunging into the water!! I luuuvvveeddd the city!! From up there i tlooked like a board game with false buildings that were twisted and turned to look cool! But not joking, every damn building was different!

We checked into the hotel after a loooonnnggg "not-so-refreshing" drive. All way long, there were buildings, constructions, more buildings, more constructions, containers, more containers ..... oops... a tunnel, more tunnels... phew!!! Looked like the city was made of just blocks and blocks of brick and cement! I hardly saw any greenery and life!

The hotel people were sweet! They offered Foxs which Sai and I grabbed immediately. We were famished. We freshened up and left in search of food and found this Pakistani restaurant near the hotel. (I hate it that I dont remember its name!) We picked up water and some stuff from Watsons and had dinner! The Phuket fish and Curd was THE MOST AMAZING thing there! I was sooooo desperate to try clams but dad just would not allow it on the table! :( Sai and Dad had naan and some gravy everyday of our stay there and I experimented almost all i could.. except the clams! I had Squid soup!!!! (nuthin gr8!)

When I fell in love with Hyderabad, the moment I lost it!

That was the glimpse i got of the Buddha statue in Hussain Sagar lake. I always wondered why people went there - 1) the place stinks like 2 tons of bleaching powder has been mixed with 10 tons of rotten fruits 2) its just a statue 3) its not even worth 60 bucks to go by that boat - you get to see buddha's butt for like half and hour, and another half you're trying to figure out what is so special about his front that people actually get off these boats to take pictures right by his feet - WHATEVER!

Pranav and I started off with this boat ride on the first available boat. 60 damn bucks for the ticket per head. This particular boat has entertainment but did not give the privilege to get off the boast and take pics near HIM! we dint care - we just wanted to go!

I was holding my digi cam after a long long time and it was sunset time! I kept clicking and clicking and the memory card was full! The stench form the waters were killing me... the loud noise from the music that was played for the dancers on the boat was worse! some telugu song that goes "Aah antte amalapuram... aahh antte ...puram" EEEEuuuuwww!!! Pranav was sitting just for the sake of it and we could not even get offff!!

It took us half an hour to see Buddha's face and that's when i clicked this picture! The sunset behind HIM turned purple and it was beautiful to see the statue lit from the bottom! I tried getting my bored brother to pose but in vain! For a minute, all i could think of was the Buddha statue the 2 of us visit in Lantau Island, Hong Kong. The one in Hong Kong was on a hill top and I instantly fell in love with it! I remember complaining that my dad should have come too. The Super Chinese lunch that was served in the Po Lan monastery was immensely yummy, all i could identify was their Tofu soup and some leaves with pepper on them! Pranav dreaded the food and Dad thought it was a waste of 100 dollars on us - Food wasters! I remember clicking soooooo many pictures of this BIG Buddha, i was fascinated by this big guy made of bronze in between the greenest mountains!

Vroommm!!! I was in Hyd! It was stinking and I hated it! The telugu music was loud and the mood was horrible! I got off the boat and looked up to see the Birla Mandir lit up so beautifully again! I didn't go back to any temple in my thoughts, walked my brother to an auto and we left!

I almost fell in love with Hyderabad but thankfully I was woken up!

Guess who has just been arrested for the worst crime in the world.....

...being too cute! Serves you right for stealing our smiles!

4 full days and no time

It was April finally and THE (only) convocation in my life was on a Tuesday - A day which is after a weekend and almost middle of a working week. I did not want to go with all the changes my college was making with its dates. I informed home that I would not be going when my mom said she wanted a snap of me with my 'degree'! That's all I could give her after 3 years of college and all the EDUCATION! ;) I decided to go... i scrapped 5 days of work and decided to make it to Chennai. With a lot of alteration to my tickets, I was done - I was flying to Chennai, 4 days there and then would go back home by train.

It was Friday and I could not wait... I reached the DAMN Shamshabad airport and boarded. I was looking forward to stay with Monu in her house. This is the first time I was seeing her after she got married. The flight towards Chennai was gone in a wink and I took a taxi towards Sowcarpet - that's where Monu lived! All my luggage (1 bag) was loaded and the car sped off. The first song that came on was "pettarap".... then i knew... I was in chennai!

I remember the first time and the last time in Chennai. In a cab - lost in thoughts but full of dreams! Sounds like i wanted to become a movie star! I remember how much i wanted to be out of home and there i was - Out of home! 

My day of graduation was not a day where my parents could watch me holding hands with the hat from far off... it was a sticky affiar inside that audi in college. But our spirits were not low! As usual, we did not sit in order. It was the 5 of us together - yet again! Giggling, making noises, cheering for the ppl we knew in other depts and havign the most fun we could out of those few silent hours! 

And FINALLY it was B.com Corporate Secretaryship. The long impatient wait became a slow and anxious one! We were to receive our *degrees*. We were about to graduate! And we did! 

My graduation day did not involve throwing the hat in the air and taking pictures with the paper! It was one fun filled reunion with loads of pride! 

Sambar/Vada, Roti/Aloo, Chapathi/muttar, Pav/Bhaji

Does it take a long time to digest all this eaten at the same time?! Its the same digestion process anyways. Why does it take so much time for people to learn to adjust when you are from different roots to live in one place?! Ego? Color? Race? Dressing sense? Expenditure limits? Choice of words?

Status - My definition

There is this group of people I know in Tirupur who do some things. Read on

---- Buy the costliest clothes only for the Brand
---- Purposely leave the price tag on it the first time, just so that someone sees it and go WHOA!
---- Swing these clothes around when they go "hahahaha" for the not at all funny jokes
---- Fold these clothes and never spend on their dry cleaning ;)
---- Repeat these clothes for a 'family function' after a 'social get together'
---- Talk no end of these clothes when asked
---- Think they can just carry off these clothes

---- Donate 1 crore just so that their name comes on the paper
---- Add in their column in the paper "We wanted to make an Anonymous donation, but the trust wanted to publish this. This was not necessary"
---- Poise for these pictures near the poshest hotels for making a donation

---- Wear plastic smiles wherever they go
---- Host a party once a while just to remind their friends "we're here"

---- Hire nannies to take care of their babies
---- Buy mobile phones for their kids in 5th standard (latest)
---- Send these kids abroad, however DUMB they are for their MBA or even university


***************** LIVE PEOPLE!******************

Say Yes or No!

Came across this post in my flat mate's blog. Decided to answer them too! :)

Gone on a blind date - No

Skipped school - Never, was in boarding school all my life!

Watched someone die - No

Been to abroad - Yes

Been on a plane - Yes

Been lost - Yes, Everyday Business

Been on the opposite side of the country - No

Swam in the ocean - Yes

Cried yourself to sleep - No

Played cops and robber - Yes

Recently colored with crayons - Yes

Sang Karaoke - Yes

Paid for a meal with coins only? - Yes! 25 bucks at Murugan idli Kadai

Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? - Did my upper lip! :(

Made prank phone calls - Hah, Yes!

Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose - No

Caught a snowflake on your tongue - Yes

Danced in the rain - Yes

Written a letter to Santa Claus - Yes, just once. In 2 std. When I heard of Santa first.

Been kissed under the mistletoe - No

Watched the sunrise with someone you care about - Yes, thanks Besant Nagar beach

Blown bubbles - Yes, Coimbatore municipality exhibition in Gandhipuram.

Gone ice-skating - No, just skating.

Gone to the movies - Yes. (Miss Satyam)

Ever sung to anyone on the phone - Yes :) :)

Heard your own voice recorded - Yes

Longest phone call - Many 1 hours

Lost a phone - :( Yes! once!



1. Any nickname - Pragi, Peepu, Ajjhu, Loadssss!

2. Mother's name - Sachu

3. Favorite drink - Grape Tang

4. Tattoo - No

5. Body Piercings - Ears

6. How much do you love your job - Giggle! Not that much... a little more than like!

7. Birthplace - Coimbatore

8. Favorite vacation spot - Murugan Illam, Coimbatore

9. Ever been to Africa - No

10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner - Lol! Yes, Subway

11. Ever been on TV - Yes, Ethiraj college culturals

12. Ever steal any traffic sign - Yes, threw a No Parking board. And no one noticed! ;)

13. Ever been in a car accident - No

14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle - No

15. Favorite salad dressing - Anything!

16. Favorite pie - Haven't eaten one

17. Favorite number - 8

18. Favorite movie - Blood Diamond

19. Favorite holiday - Goa with family

20. Favorite dessert - Anything

21. Favorite food - Anything

22. Favorite day of the week - Friday

23 Favorite brand of body wash - Body Shop

24. Favorite toothpaste - Pepsodent

25. Favorite smell - Rain and Mud

26. What do you do to relax - Sleep :)

27. How do you see yourself in 10 years - Married. Wife, Mother, Daughter in law, Busy!

28. Furthest place you will send this message - :P

29. Who will respond to this the fastest - Padhu

30. What's your fav smiley on chat - :P


Lol! Was fun doing this Hepsibah! Thanks for your blog! and sorry for not taking permission! :P

My lil' brother and Orkut!~

Been a while since I blogged. Didn't bother to even open my pages. I had a very busy month which was very fast by the way, until today. The company had given a Good Friday holiday and the two S days of the week follow. I signed up for weekend work as I desperately needed the compensation leave for my long weekend in Chennai. I was browsing through all possible sites for more information Sweeney Todd along with a friend. While doing so, we decided we would surf through his orkut profile for a while.

Orkut!~

Mention the word in front of

* Mom : I hope you don't have your pictures there! The magazines say scary things about this site.
* Dad : Does Sai know all this? Teach him na...

We looked through all his pictures of graduation and turtle walk etc, when we came across one of his friends who had a few pictures. With a little tinge of joblessness we opened the pictures and looked through them. The guy had 8 pictures of himself in various posses in his room all in same clothes. we burst out laughing looking at the guy wear sun glasses inside his room and pose without his shirt! What was he thinking? Hrithick Roshan types?! Lol!

After a hearty laugh I got back to my work station with a tinge of excitement to view my orkut profile. I had been a frequent orkutter and once I joined Google I lost interest. I would be online all day long and people who scrapped me spoke to me all day over fone. Scraps didn't mean anything after long hours of online work. They don't still.

With all silly enthusiasm I opened my profile and began reading my 'About me' column. It was a long time back I had filled in that column and felt very funny reading it now. I went through all my testimonials and the testimonials I had written. It was fun reading all of those. I came across this very cute testimonial I had written for my lil' brother. I decided to check out all his testimonials and opened his page. I was so shocked to see about 8-9 testimonials. None of them were actual testimonials except for mine and ANOTHER GIRLs!! Phew! Whatever! She claimed him to be a good brother... what the hell does she know! @#$%#

Sai had this very funny 'About me' column which looked like it was copied from some other profile. And it was! His other testimonials were praising him to be Chester... some guy from Linkin Park which Sai is crazy about lately. They were funny! I was almost leaving the page when I saw a 110 pictures in his album! I checked my eyes for a moment and opened them. ALL LINKIN PARK! Ok Sir, I get the point! 220 Videos.... ALL LINKIN PARK! Damn u guy!

Almost disgusted with my brother's profile I was again almost leaving the page when I notices 990 communities!!!!!! I was lost for a minute! 990 communities??!?! I won't have so much to be a part of on Earth! Irritated with the fact that he was so involved with Orkut, I was a lil' angry!

Then I could think of nothing but those times when I started using Orkut in 2006. I was so hooked to the site. I was online always. I would wait for scraps and reply immediately! Then my brother's involvement looked little to me.

I then looked at his profile... and thought... 'what would he do when he realizes like me!' Let him!

Yet Another MUST AWAITED weekend~~

It was not even on my mind that daddy would say yes to what I was going to ask. I wanted to go to Chennai for my birthday, to meet my friends and spend the weekend over with them! I was bored in Hyderabad and every weekend here meant watching TV alone and reading books on my bed. I was just not ready to spend my birthday that way here. I decided with all guts to call my dad and ask him. Called mummy first and the answer was 'ask daddy.' I called dad and he said 'ask mummy.' Finally, he said yes! :) :) :) That's when I stopped working for the week!!!

The bus ride to Chennai was miserable... my legs hurt so badly and the bus was late by two hours!! Somehow, I managed to sit through the whole thing with a lot of excitement! I reached and surprised everyone! It was a great weekend! :) :)

A smile...

I had once had a long personal chat with a friend who was not so close/not so far kinds. It was just a moral support chat for both of us and it ended in a very nice "Thank for being there" kinds. The next day he sent me a mail with this poem in it. Here goes,

I have a list of folks I know
all written in a book,
And every now and then
I go and take a look.

That is when I realize
these names they are a part,
not of the book they're written in,
but taken from the heart.

For each Name stands for someone
who has crossed my path sometime,
and in that meeting they have become
the reason and the rhyme.

Although it sounds fantastic
for me to make this claim,
I really am composed
of each remembered name.

Although you're not aware
of any special link,
just knowing you, has shaped my life
more than you could think.

So please don't think my greeting
as just a mere routine,
your name was not
forgotten in between.

For when I send a greeting
that is addressed to you,
it is because you're on the list
of folks I'm indebted to.

So whether I have known you.
for many days or few,
in some ways you have a part
in shaping things I do.

I am but a total
of many folks I've met,
you are a friend I would prefer
never to forget.


I fall and I pick myself up.
I lose hope yet I dream.
I am lost and I find myself again.
I cry and I laugh through my tears.
I despair yet I believe.

I was moved!

A conversation...

A conversation...

I was heading home for a much awaited weekend. It was a tiring drive to the airport after work and I needed some rest. I waited impatiently to board with a heavy bag in hand. Once I did, I looked for THE seat near the emergency exit for more leg space. This happens in all domestic flights but Paramount (Travel Business Class baby!) This Spicejet was traveling from Delhi to Coimbatore via Hyderabad. IN these flights its very tough to get a good seat cause the Delhiites take the good ones. To my surprise 2 seats near the emergency exit were free and both were to the window’s side! Lucky me! ;) I quickly found my way to that place and arranged my hand luggage in the compartments above.

The isle seat was occupied by an old man (around 60… at least!) who looked a little like Vijay Mallya. He stood up and made way for me to walk in. He was one of those traveling from Delhi… one of those who had the choice of getting the better seats before I could... hmpf! I sat down and informed daddy that I’ve boarded. He listened to my conversation which was extremely obvious so I changed to Tamil. Then he smiled even more. I switched off the phone and as the stewardess started enacting her daily DOs I opened my book and began reading. I noticed a weird ring on this guy’s hand. It was a snake – a snake ring. EEuuww! I was engrossed in my book but could not help noticing things about this guy. The flight’s inside temperature was warm, rather hot. He was wearing a woolen cardigan. His shirt pockets were bulging out of his cardigan. As I noticed that he pulled out a Blackberry from there. He then looked at it and shook his head like he made a mistake and put it in the portion in the seat in front of him. He then pulled out another Blackberry from the same pocket and put it there. Whoa… I thought! Then he pulled out two more Blackberries from his pant pockets and put them along with their siblings. Whatever you are man... I work for Google, I thought!

Once the flight was on the runway and the lights were all off, he switched on the light right above my head. I realized what he did and immediately turned and thanked him with my MOST FAKE SMILE! (You gotta see me do it... its on the face. It's like a sadist's smile. But it works when you want to say "I don't like you") But truly, nice of the guy I thought. After a while he started the conversation.

He : So, you live in Hyderabad? :)

Me : Yes, I do. (Nothing more, nothing less. The kind of answer which would end the conversation!)

He : Which class are you in?

I was totally frustrated with this question. It happens to me always. Yes, I'm puny. Yes, I'm tiny. Yes, I'm short. But, Damn it I'm working. I hate it when I'm misunderstood to be an eighth std.

Me : I'm not a student. I'm working.

He : Oh! Where you working?

There he comes! That's the question I was expecting :)

Me : Google Inc.,

He : Ohhh! Google! Hmmm... So do you know Mr.Sundararaman in your HR department?

Me : No sir, I don't.

He : Nice company - Google.

Me : Yeah, I know.

He : I've been to your office. I mean your head quarters. In the U.S.

Me : Oh, you mean in Mountainview?

He : Yes, that one. Nice office. Nice place to work for. Do you know your company has been voted as number 1 company to work for by Forbes magazine?

Me (Proudly) : Yes, I do.

He : Who are those two guys? Your company founders?

I was dumbstruck. I've never heard of anyone call Larry and Sergey - two guys. They are the people who founded the world's number one company.

Me : You mean Larry and Sergey?

He : Yeah, Larry Larry. I met them in a conference in America. I stayed in their guest house after the conference.

Hahahaha! Loser... what do you think huh?!

He : So, do you live in Coimbatore?

Me : Yes, in Tirupur.

He : Oh! Good. So what's your father? An exporter? What's your company's name? Which part of Tirupur?

Whoa whoa whoa man! Hold it!

Me : Yes, he is an exporter. Myco Knitting Mills. And what was your last question?

He : Which part of Tirupur? Rayapuram?

Me : No, not Rayapuram. Kongunagar.

He : Oh ok. Near the Exporters association. good. good.

Me : Eh... (Looked confused and didn't know what to ask)

He : My father in law's house is in Rayapuram.

Me : Oh ok. My uncle lives there.

He : Oh! Which street? 1st or 2nd?

Me : 1st. Why?

He : What was he? An engineer?

Me : Yes. (completely flabber gasted!)

He : Mr.Moorthy?

Me : Yes!

He : My father in law's house is behind your uncle's house. I know them quite well.

Me : Oh! So are you going to your wife's house?

He : Not wife's house. Father in law's house. Wife's house is my house. We are not together. But that does not change anything. It is still my father in law's house.

My mind : Take that "I'm sorry" look off your face Pragi.

Me : Oh. So where are you going now?

He : Do you know Prem Durai? He is one of the biggest exporters in Tirupur?

Me : Yes I do. His son is my friend.

He : I have financed for many people in Tirupur.

Me : Financed? So what are you?

He : I'm a consultant. A financial consultant now. I started my career as an employee in Centurion bank. I was the CEO of Reliance Insurance. I have worked with World Bank, Chennai branch. I'm right now one of the 10 directors of SEBI. I also run the company Religare, a holding company of Ranbaxy which I started from scratch. I have worked for UNICEF. I've been consulting director of NABARD.

My mind to myself : Pragi, it's time you reacted!

Me : Wow!

He : Yeah, I know. I'm right now going home. My mother lives in Coimbatore. Ramnagar. I'm going for a holiday. Just 10 days. My mother lives with my widowed sister. I have my own flat there in Coimbatore. Fully furnished - Western style. I get to enjoy a leisurely 1 hour bath in my jacuzzi only in Coimbatore. It does not happen even in my Delhi or Mumbai residence. I have my own car stationed there. I use it whenever I go there. I don't like having drivers wait on me wherever I go. I drive myself. I go swimming everyday only when I'm in Coimbatore.

Me : Where in Coimbatore? Jenney's club? (Knowing it to be the biggest club i guessed he should be going there only)

He : Cha cha! Not that one! That's dirty. I user Springfields. It's a private club owned and managed by 5 of us. We use it whenever we want to.

This is when I realized that there was something about this man. He is BIG. He is someone. He knows a lot. I also realized that I had used my boarding pass as book mark and closed the book in my hand long back. I decided to talk to this guy. I kept the book aside. He knew I was interested in talking.

He : So what games do you play?

Me : Shuttle badminton. Played till I was in school. Then stuck to volleyball and basketball in college.

He : Shuttle. Good! How far has this game taken you?

Me : Nothing much. District runners up.

He : Where did you do your schooling?

Me : First 5 years in Nazareth convent, Ooty. Then in TEA public school. Then In Satchidananda Jothi Nikethan. I did my under graduation in Ethiraj College, Chennai.

He : I used to have a few estates in Ooty. I sold them all off. None to maintain. And I have already told you I financed many of the exporters from TEA association. Your school Satchidananda... I have met that swamiji in Yogaville. I studied in Madras Christian College. I did my under graduation there.

Me : Ok.

He : Schooling is very important in life. Don't you miss school?

Me : I miss school a lot. I'm in fact going for the Alumni Association of my high school.

He : Oh! Good. So your going to meet all friends, enemies, first crushes??

I was totally surprised about how this man was getting personal all of a sudden.

Me : Friends, yes. First crushes, yes. Enemies, no.

He : Who was your first crush?

Me : Excuse me?

He : You can tell me.

Me : Surely not somebody you know. (I said tauntingly)

He : Hahaha! Good one! You're smart.

I could have said "yeah, I know."

He : Are you career oriented?

Me : Not anymore. I changed my mind.

He : Get married, have kids, live for your family. There's nothing like it.

Me : Meaning?

He : Fall in love, get married. Never settle for an arranged marriage.

Me : I still don't get it.

He : You won't.

Me : Ok.

He : So when you were career oriented, what did you want to become?

Me : A journalist. A reporting journalist. A journalist who did her own cases. A journalist who wanted to shine for hard work and not controversies of cricket or celebrities.

He : Good one again!

He (after he threw the sandwich he bought from the stewardess in the trash untouched) : Is this the only flight that goes to Coimbatore at this time?

Me : I guess so.

He : I usually fly by Kingfisher.

Me : And you look like Mallya.

He : You mean this guy Vijay? That fellow is a very good friend of mine.

Me : Huh?

He : Vijay Mallya is a very good friend of mine. We were good friends even before he could start his airline venture. When I worked for Reliance he called one day and asked me to meet him at his office with my passport. I did so immediately thinking it was an emergency. A manager from his office escorted me to a nearby private aerodrome. He was waiting for me in a helicopter and we were flying to Dubai. I was shocked for a minute. Then he said that he wanted time with his dear friend, me! I agreed and we flew to Dubai. We shopped, swam, drank beer and returned. When I was getting out of the bird he handed over an envelope to me and said "I'm making you CEO of my airline company. You start tomorrow." I returned the envelope saying I didn't want to spoil the friendship by working under you. You carry on. I will carry on. We will be friends for life. I don't want to work under a friend. Thanks for a good day. I walked away.

Me : Wow!

He : See, I have a Kingfisher privilege card. I never fly by Spicejet. This is a card that only the closest circle of Vijay have.

He handed a glossy red card that had the kingfisher bird on it. And it said VIP. Signed by 'Vijay.'

Me : What did you want to become when you were in college?

He : I was lost when I was in college. I never wanted to become something. I lost my father at a very young age. My mother worked for IOB Chennai. I studied hard and got a job in a bank. I got married. We had two sons. I got divorced. I became a CEO for 4 companies. I earned a lot. I still earn a lot. I dine with the finest people. I talk to big people for hours on the phone about their personal matters. I'm what I'm now. I never thought I would be anything. My sons are in the US now. Both married. On their own. I meet them one every year. I'm just a consultant now. But every day I earn in lakhs.

Me : When was the last time you met your sons?

He : I have everything in life. I wear the best of Italian shirts. I drive cars even before they are introduced into the market. I meet the big people everyday. I live in luxury. I travel 160 days in a year. Mostly abroad. I meet different people every year. But happiness - - Missing in my life.

For a minute my heart sank. I felt miserable for the guy. He meant what he said. This time I said "I'm sorry" softly.

Me : What are you going to do in Coimbatore for ten days?

He : I sleep a lot in these ten days. I take my mother to all temples she wants to go to. I spend a lot of time with her. Mothers are so important. Fathers too. The bond of a child and its mother is directly related to her womb. Blood relation. No relation is like what it is with your mother. I love my mother.

I smiled. He was genuine. Yes, a show off. One of its kind. But, a man who had everything in life but inside was screaming for attention and companionship. This guy was lonely, is lonely and has just decided he will remain so. i felt sad for him.

We were about to land.

Me (out of curiosity) : Why did you chose Spicejet if you have this card?

He : I had to finish the meeting, though I was allowed to leave in between. It was a meeting with the Finance minister, Chidambaram. We've known each other for long, so i didn't feel like walking out.

Me : Oh. Ok!

He : What's service according to you?

Me : Service. I think giving your time and help is service. Money is service, yes. Prayer is not.

He : Any hands on this field madam?

Me : Well, yes Sire!

He : Tell me.

He is a man who is willing to listen.

Me : I belong to a student organization called Team Vision. We organize charity shows and lend hands in all we can. We've done 3 concerts till now. For visually, physically and mentally challenged children. We've raised money for them and given them infrastructural support. We read for visually challenged children every weekend. We record our voices for their MA and BA studies everyday in cassettes so they don't have to depend on us. We spread awareness of the importance of ramps in public places. This is the little we do to make a difference to them.

He : I visit one place near Marudamalai. It's for mentally challenged children. I spend time with them. I play with them and I fund them.

Me : Very nice of you to give away the little time you get with your mother for these children.

He : It's challenging. Managing time, family, friends is all very challenging.

It was a rough landing, earthquake landing I should say. We took our hand luggage and waited till the other hurried passengers could leave. I helped him with his heavy bag. He walked me to the baggage collection counter and made sure my father waved from the arrival lounge.

Me : How do you remember so many poeple?

He : Just like how you do.

Me : How do you remember sooooooo many people?

He : I remember the one who are important and worth it.

Me : So what am I? Worth it?

He : This is one journey I dreaded till the minute you boarded the plane. You are like the unborn daughter I've always wanted. Bold, out-spoken, straight forward. I wish I had a daughter like you.

Silence. I wanted to say something, but didn't.

He : It was very nice meeting you my little girl.

Me : You too sir. Have a nice holiday with your Mother.

He (shook hands) : Wishing you only the best in life.

Me : :)

He handed me his card and I gave him mine.

He : Hi, I'm Anand. Nice meeting you.

Me : I'm Pragathambal.

Anand : Bye

Me : Bye :)

This is one of the conversations that lasted 1 hour and 6 minutes. I thought he was a show off, I realized that was how he lived. I don't blame him. I wish him a happy holiday and a happy time ahead. He is not happy. He has no time to find it. It is these 10 days every year he gets to find some happiness and share some happiness. I was glad I could share something with this guy who called me his unborn daughter. My dad helped me with my luggage and we had dinner. I told him all about Mr.Anand. We reached home and I recited the whole thing all over again to mom. I then slept. Slept well. I was home. :)